would move for nought, neither for baling, nor to do aught at the
sail, nor to work at what he was bound to work at in the ship in even
shares with the other men, neither would he buy himself off from the
work.

Now they sailed south by Reekness and then south from the land; and
when they lost land they got much heavy sea; the ship was somewhat
leaky, and scarce seaworthy in heavy weather, therefore they had it
wet enough. Now Grettir let fly his biting rhymes, whereat the men
got sore wroth. One day, when it so happened that the weather was both
squally and cold, the men called out to Grettir, and bade him now do
manfully, "For," said they, "now our claws grow right cold." Grettir
looked up and said--

"Good luck, scurvy starvelings, if I should behold
Each finger ye have doubled up with the cold."

And no work they got out of him, and now it misliked them of their
lot as much again as before, and they said that he should pay with his
skin for his rhymes and the lawlessness which he did. "Thou art more
fain," said they, "of playing with Bard the mate's wife than doing thy
duty on board ship, and this is a thing not to be borne at all."

The gale grew greater steadily, and now they stood baling for days and
nights together, and all swore to kill Grettir. But when Haflidi heard
this, he went up to where Grettir lay, and said, "Methinks the bargain
between thee and the chapmen is scarcely fair; first thou dost by them
unlawfully, and thereafter thou castest thy rhymes at them; and now
they swear that they will throw thee overboard, and this is unseemly
work to go on."